Rail-joint.



J. SHEETS.

RAIL JOINT. APPLICATION II-LED NOV. 11, 1908.

Patented June 29, 1909 {UNITED STATES iA ldENT ill FlClll.

JOSEPH SHEETS, OF GREEN BANK. ll'lCSl YUlClN L\.

RAIL-JOINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 29, 1909.

Application filed November 11," 1908. Serial No. 462,128.

T all whcm i t may concern: Be it known that I, Josnrn Siinnrs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Green Bank, inrthe county of Pocahontas and State of West Virginia, have invented a new and 4 useful Rail-Joint, of which the following is a specification. i

It is the object of the present lIlV'gIltlOl'ltO provide rail joints of such Construction that the weight-of therolling stock traveling over the rails will act to firmly bring one rail into engagement with the other sotha t it will be r practicall impossible for the rails to become accidents y disconnected.

Broadly speaking, the invention resides iii proi'iding-one, of the rails to be joincdfwitli an extension the sides of which are beveled and the end edge of which is inclined as is also that ,end of the rail from which the extension rojects. The extension is provided with inclined locking lugs and these lugs seat in seats formed in the walls of a recess which is forI'ned in the end of the other rail and which recei't es the said extension, the end wall of this i'ecess being inclined to a degree correspoiiding to the'angic of inclination of the and edge of the extension and the and ot the sec ond-iiientioned rail itself being; alsoinclincd to abiit against the inclined end of the first Inentio ned'rail when the two are assembled.

In the acconi anying drawings, Figure 1 is a View in side el evation of one rail and a V81 tical longitudinal section of the other rail, the two. rails being in position ready to be assembled, Fig. 2 is a top inn View of the rail shown in elevation in ig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a -vertical transverse sectional View through the. two rails after they have been assembled.

One of the rail ends is indicated in'the drawings in general by the reference character A and the other by the reference character B. The rail endAhas its web increased in thickness as-indicated bythe numeral 5 and the end of the rail is out at an angle or inclined u wardly as indicated by the numeral 6. his inclined end 6 of the rail A is clearly seen in Fig. 2 of the drawings, and integral with the said end of the rail and projecting therefrom in line therewith is an extension 7.. The extension 7 above inen-'-- tioned is of a height to extend from thebase of the rail to a plane immediately below the plane of the under side of the tread'of the rail and, as in the case of the end of 'the'rail -A, and the-extensionthereof, has'its end cut.

. at an angle or inclined as at 8 in a plane parallel with the plane of the ,end of thc rail proper. As clearly shown intie'said Fig. 2 of the drawings, the extension 7 has its sides lying in upwardly converging planes, or in other words, the extension is of greater width at its base than at its upper edge, and formed upon each side of the extension is a plurality of locking lugs 9 which lugs-extend obliquely and have their line of extent parallel to the angiilarly cut end (i of the rail. Figs. 2 .and 3 of the llIlWlllgS, the lugs 9 are As shown in of the same width throughoutli'ut are iii creased in thickness in the direction of the base ofthe rail so that viewed from their edges. they appear as wedges and, as a matter of fact, perform the function of a wedge upon assembling ol the rail ends.

In fact, the

entire extension in effect a wedge. The

of the end walls 12 of the recess in the said rail. Each of the sidewalls of'thc recess 11 in the rail end B is formed with a plurality of seats 14 which are in the nature of recesses extending diagonally upwardly in mra'llcl relation with respect to the angularly cut ends 13 of the said rail. The seatsll l are increased in depth in a downward direction so as toreceive the lockinglu s 9 of the extension 7 of the rail end A,.it sing understood that in assembling the rail ends, the rail end B is disposed with its-base coincident with the upperedge of the extension 7 of the rail end A and withthe angularl .out end 13 coincident in line of extent with the corre' s onding end 6 of the rail man, and that t c said rail end B'is then folded downwardly 'ceiving the locking lugs 19. i

'As heretofore stated, the entire extension 7 with its locking. lugs 9 is-in effect-a wedge and the recess 11 in the railend B and the seats 14 for theloc'king'lugs 9 arc'so proportioned asregards their dimensions with 'respcotitothe extension 7 and rts said lugs 9tthat-the extension will have a slight wedgingrecep 'tion n the recess. it will fu'rtherbefunderin an oblique direction with thoseats 14 res stood that the weight of rolling stock passing over the rails will act to force the rail B downwardly into tighter engagement with the rail end A and that in this manner, the joint will always be a solid one.

What is elain'ied is l. In a rail joint, the meeting ends of two rails, one provided with an extension having beveled sides and upwardly tapered locking lugs inclined in a (ilI'NillJll lengtlnviso of the roll, the other rail belng lorined with an undercut recess to receive the extension of the iirst mentioned rail and in the walls of the recess with seats-for the locl-:ing lugs of the extension.

2. in a rail joint, the meeting ends of two rails, one n'ovided with :iii r-. ;tm:si( n having angular upwardly tapered locking lugs in- (lined in a direction lengthwise ol' the rail, the other rail being formed with an undercut reels-s to receive the extension of the iirst mentinned rail and in the walls of the recess with inclin d seats to remive the said loching' lugs.

I in a rail joint, the meeting ends of two rails, one provided with an extension having upwardly tapered locking lugs inclined in a direction len hwise of the rail and an inclined end edge, the other r'ail being formed witha recess to receive the extension of the I (list mentioned rail, the end wall of the recess being inclined to engage with the inclined end edge. of the extension of the first mentinned rail, the said walls ol the recess in the scrond nn'ntioned rail being formed with seals inrlined in a direction lcngtlnvisc of the rail to receive the locking lugs of the extension of the st mentioned rail.

iii a rail joint, the meeting ends of two 5. In a rail joint, the meeting ends of two' rails, one provided with an extension having beveled sides and inclined locking lugs and an inclined end edge, the other rail being formed with a recess to receive the said extension, having inclined walls formed with inclined seats to receive the locking lugs of the extension, the end Wall of the recess in the-second mentioned rail being inclined to engage with the inclined nd edge of the said extension.

6. In a rail joint, the meeting ends of two rails, one provided with an extension having beveled sides and inclined locking lugs tapered 1n an upward direction, the other rail being formed with a recess to receive the s'aid extension and with seats torecelve the said locking lugs, the said seats being decreased in depth in an upward direction. I

In testimony that 1 claim the foregoing as y in the presence of two witnesses. 4 I

i i I JOSEPH SHEETS. \Vitnesses: i

VIRGINIA GILLISPIE, GEORGE H. SHEETS.

own, 1 have hereto affixed m'y signature 

